Some good reading...

May 28, 2006

I love holidays, because I love having my husband around...even if it is only one extra day in a week. We spent yesterday just relaxing. We took the kids to the pool (which is FINALLY open!), and then came home for a nice long nap. AHHH. What a day.

Today was church...I played for the choir to sing. Supposedly they are breaking for the summer which will be nice for me considering I'm about to add a newborn to the family in the next little while, as if being the organist for the ward won't keep me busy enough for church meetings! I am really excited though to have the organist calling- it will be a fun, new challenge, and I look forward to getting better...um...SOON.

The choir tries really hard...it's amazing though how many people don't come to practice and then get up to sing for the performances. Nice to have their voices, but hard when they don't "know" what's going on. Our current director likes to do things "his way" so things aren't usually as written. I wasn't terribly fond of the number selected, but hey, I'm just the pianist, so I keep my mouth shut. :) It went well. BUT....as I was sitting through the second half of the meeting I noticed something really, well SICK! Remember my little "rant" about the tissue lady in church a few weeks ago? THIS ONE? Well, she was back sitting in front of me again this week (or technically did I sit behind her?), and I have another complaint. For TWENTY-NINE minutes (I only know that because I looked at the clock when I was coming down from playing the choir song) the tissue lady's ten year old daughter sat picking through her mom's long hair. She started pulling out her mother's long, gray hairs ONE BY ONE, and after she inspected them carefully and showed EACH one to her mom, she tossed them over her shoulder into the aisle. And she did this for yes...twenty-nine minutes.

Oh man.

Maybe I'm just hormonal, and therefore things appear a lot more freaky to me, but COME ON!! It's CHURCH PEOPLE! Church. You know, the place you come to sit and listen to uplifting messages and be spiritually fed? Not freak other people out? (even if they are borderline over the edge almost nine month pregnant women who tend to freak out at um...EVERYTHING...)

Phew. Rant over.

Well, the last thing I have to say today is when I am pregnant I have a problem with ice cream. The funny thing is, my problem isn't EATING ice cream, it's COLLECTING ice cream. It's like a security blanket for me...gotta have ice cream in ten different flavors at any given time *just in case*. I did this when I was pregnant with my first son five years ago, and the obsessive behavior has not changed in subsequent pregnancies. It goes like this...

make list for grocery store.

check freezer for ice cream.

ALAS! there are only THREE kinds of ice cream in there, and one is completely freezer burnt because I've only stuck one fork in it over the last two months.

throw that pint away, mark ice cream on list.

go to grocery store.

wait until end to pick out ice cream...heaven knows I HATE my ice cream soft.

stand in front of Tillamook freezer door inspecting flavors. (With Liam it was Turkey Hill ice cream in Delaware, and Milo it was Breyers in Rhode Island)

select no fewer than two. (yesterday it was FOUR, because they were buy one, get one free and then on sale for half price! INSANE! WHAT A BARGAIN! I got FOUR for the price of ONE!)

take home.

stick a fork in one, test it out. (yes, fork..not spoon)

replace it in freezer, don't touch again for at least two weeks.

repeat with other flavors until freezer burnt or gone.

check freezer frequently to make sure ice cream is still there.

occasionally stick a fork in and eat a few bites.

This my friends, is me exhibiting obsessive behavior of which I am not proud, but can at least admit. That's the first step...right? I also plan to hit the no sugar cold turkey in the next few weeks in prep for Le Bebe, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out with my current ice cream collecting issues. Of course, I've been saying for the last three months I was going to go back to no sugar again...and...well....

And just in case you don't believe me, here are the current flavors in my fridge: (All Tillamook btw...that's the only thing to buy here!)

Tillamook Mudslide (This was an accident...when the boys were sick last
week I thought I was grabbing plain chocolate, this is TOO much, and
hasn't been opened. Probably will be discarded at the in-law's house
this weekend)

May 26, 2006

Normally this wouldn't be a heart stopping issue, except the three main users of this bathroom are:

a new to the potty three year old who waits until the very last minute to realize he has to go.

a impatient five year old who doesn't understand that anyone else might actually need to use the bathroom occasionally, and is completely frustrated when he finds the bathroom in use when HE wants to go.

a eight and a half month pregnant mom.

Let's just say in the last few days we've had some BIG issues with this. yes, yes we have. Enough that I almost drove two blocks to McDonald's an hour ago so Milo and I could go because somebody wouldn't get off the toilet!

So, that got me thinking...How are we so different sixty years later from the people who first lived in this house? Why didn't people need more than one bathroom in their houses back in the day? Was it really that excessive and unheard of for more than one person to have to go at a time? Or are we just all impatient and need to learn better *ahem* BATHROOM control? I know if I brought this subject up to my grandma I'd hear that we were lucky that we didn't have to wander out to the backyard knee deep in crickets in the dark to make our way out to the outhouse and then walk another mile to the pump house to wash my hands and get a drink... :)

Someday when I build a house...I don't care HOW many bathrooms it has, as long as I have my own.

May 24, 2006

remember that paper on which you spent three hours drawing the designs for the metal sculpture that your boss wanted? and the other papers that were with it in the pocket of your green pants? the papers that are pretty much really important, and the papers you're probably searching your office for as I type?

well, just so you know, it's in six million wet pieces all over the washer, dryer, and bathroom now. it looks especially dramatic because it happened in a dark wash all over my black & navy maternity shirts and jeans. I'm actually not sure what color they are now. just sort of moldy looking to be honest with you.

May 23, 2006

If you've had a conversation with me lately, chances are I've spent more than my share of time talking on the subject of diapers. I just am NOT happy with my past diaper experiences, and although I've taken the most convenient route in the past, I've decided I just don't think it's for me this time around for many reasons. I refuse to pay $85 a month to just fill up a landfill with items that take 500 years to decompose...So begins the great diaper experiment here in the Stanfield household.

I started a few months ago with the premise that I was going to completely switch over from disposables to cloth diapers for Baby Jack-Jack, but after a lot of research I realized:

there will be times that I am not going to have a washer handy and would just need the ease of disposables.

although in the long run cloth diapers will cost thousands less than disposables (do you know we figured out that we spent over $3000 in diapers for just Milo? AUGH!!!), they have a lot of start-up cost involved (about $500 for the system I want), and we aren't really rolling in dough these days.

I looked high and low for the answer to my dilemmas with cloth, and I think I've finally got a good plan together, so now I will share it so everyone can tell me how crazy I am. (I thrive on being told I'm crazy apparently!)

Cloth diapers are just *not* what they used to be. Nasty, stinky prefolds pinned together with uber-sized safety pins, covered with uncomfortable plasticy pant things that got crispy after too many washings, and then they leak everywhere anyway. In the last few years some mommas have gotten really smart and designed user-friendly versions that take a lot of the problems out of cloth diapering. Don't get me wrong...it still is hands down WAYYY more work than whipping out a bag of huggies, but as far as ease to use and comfort they are a whole new experience if you used the old kind.

Ok, so from all my research, here's what I have figured out. Or so I think. There are three general types of cloth diapers...Prefolds,(a.k.a. Chinese Prefolds) which you would use with a coverlike these, or what some call a soaker...a lot of moms use wool covers, or these ones that have a waterproof liner in them to keep them dry. Then there are All in one's, usually referred to in the underground diaper world as AIO's. These are super convenient because the diapers are exactly how they sound...all in one piece, but the downside to them are they wear out faster because the outside cover gets washed as much as the inside regardless of soil. The cover and the diaper are sewn together which makes for a SUPER easy system, but not quite as long-lasting as other systems. The last (so far as I know!), and the ones I want to use are Pockets. These diapers are similar to the AIO's except you "stuff" them with your choice of liners depending on what absorbency you need. So, they are two pieces instead of one but they go on just like a disposable. You have to take them apart when they're wet but you just pull out the liner and toss them both in the wash. The ones I'm wanting are one size, so they'll fit from 6 lbs all the way up to 35 lbs. The initial expense is there...it's around $100 for 6 of these, and you go through them as fast (if not faster) than disposables, so you are looking at some $$. But in the long run? $500 for diapers that last forever or $85 a month for three years per child? Easy decision for me.

Now, to supplement the change to cloth since I don't exactly have $500 laying around, I'm going to try using something else that is REALLY cool. Gdiapers are the latest craze out of Australia, and they are going to be sitting on my doorstep in a few weeks!

Gdiapers are similar to cloth, except the liner, instead of washing it gets flushed down the toilet. They sit in a diaper cover very similar to the pocket dipes, but the difference is you can just put a new insert in when the liner gets wet, and you don't have to change the outer layer, just pop in a new liner (unless for some reason it got soiled). Check out the video on the website to see how it works!

If I use cloth at night than Gdiapers are STILL at least $40 cheaper than disposables, AND they'll be going down the drain instead of in the landfill. Also, my new granola self is starting a compost in the backyard, so any g liners that aren't poopy can get stuck in the compost with all my other compost goodies, so that means I'm only flushing the poopy ones which is nice because that's one of the downsides of going cloth...cleaning poop off the diapers. Also, the Gdiapers will hold cloth liners, so if I run out of washed night-time pockets I can use the g's in a pinch. Or, double up gliners for nighttime use if we're out of town and not near a washer. So, slowly I'll build up my cloth arsenal and then get to the point where I'm just using G'diapes at church, or when I need something easy.

Sound like a plan?

We'll see how it goes....

(edited 5/24 to add...) I forgot to mention that I'll be buying 6 BumGenius pockets to start, and then 1-2 diapers a month to bulk up my supply. When my supply is the correct size (24 +), then I'll just keep a few g's with liners on hand for when I'm out and around and/or wanting something quick and easy, thus making my final monthly cost for diapering pretty much nothing. YEA!! I can't wait!

May 22, 2006

Man! I can NOT get a hold of my time these days! I guess I should be grateful that the days are passing so quickly because my time until the newest Stanfield's arrival is coming fast.

It's been a HOT week, and we've all been sick. The city had about 6 days of record highs (25 degrees HIGHER than normal! OUCH!) this past week, and we spent a lot of the time trying to feel better while being miserably hot. Our house is super old and although it has a new heat pump in it, it doesn't manage the air in the house very well. The basement is FREEZING, the main floor is cool, and the upstairs feels like a sauna. So, we've been trying to figure out how to remedy that problem. It will probably require the assistance of a trained professional...air conditioning isn't really in our list of "can-do's".

We spent the past weekend gutting our basement out...our original plan was to make it a bedroom/living area and another bathroom for my sister to stay in, but the arrival of an unwelcome MAJOR leak a few weeks ago stopped all those plans. So, we cleaned up both rooms, hosed them out, dried everything with some big fans, and went through all the boxes down there to make sure that only things that NEEDED to be down there are down there. We put all the boxes and our food storage and random stuff in the storage room, and cleaned out the main room so we can make it into a playroom for the boys. Last week's heat made me realize I need a place where the boys can be loud and rough house without knocking over my lamps and running into me, so hopefully this will work for a while. Our long term (like FAR FAR FAR away!) plan is to put an addition on the back of the house with a big family room, but this will be nice for now. I'm going to clean the carpets with the steamer today, and hopefully by the end of the week when the rain passes and the heat comes back we'll have the room in good shape for the boys to play.

Speaking of those two crazy boys...Elijah and I were talking a few nights ago about how much the two of them have grown in the last few weeks/months. Liam is SO tall...you wouldn't BELIEVE it! Milo is really officially not a toddler anymore which is really hard for me to grasp. He has been going through a weird "stage" of trying to be a baby lately, and I think it's mostly because of all our talk of the new baby...So I started telling him last week how much I'm going to need his help with the baby and how he needs to be a big boy so he can hold him and help me. He really responded well to that and is all about being "a big boy" now. We have a lot of change coming our way...it's been a while since we had a little baby in the house and I think we're all in for a big adjustment. I'm excited though, and I know Elijah and the boys are too.

Our awesome Realtor that helped us buy this house stopped by on Saturday afternoon to say thanks...we had referred some friends of ours who were wanting to buy a house and they closed last week with him. He brought a gift card for Darden Restaurants for $50!! We haven't been out to dinner in MONTHS and we were SO excited we got cleaned up from all our work and called Elijah's mom to see if she could watch the kids for us. I wanted to go to Red Lobster (weird...I know!) and so Elijah indulged me (but when does he not?), and that's where we went. Not only have we NOT eaten out in forever, we have never, ever spent $50 on a meal before...Usually we would scrimp and make at least two meal trips out of a card like that but we just decided to go all out this time. I had a huge platter of Snow Crab (my FAVORITE!) and a big salad, and Elijah had chicken and a baked potato. we NEVER DO THAT! We brought take out for Milo too who kept telling us he wanted some fish from from "Red Lompster", and we even ordered dessert! It was so much fun. Thanks to Curt for giving us a night out. He's such a great guy, and we sure loved working with him.

I'm getting huge and feeling mildly miserable...mostly just at night though when I can't sleep. I have the hardest time getting comfortable. I have only 7 weeks left though, and I know I can make it for that. I have a lot to do before, and I'm trying hard to make this week a productive one getting all of his stuff washed and put away and my diaper supply up. I need to write a post on my new diapering system...we'll see how well my "plan" works after he's actually here and USING them...lol. Our only dilemma is we have NO NAME for this baby...odd for us since both Liam and Milo had their names very early on. We had a name in mind early on but it was squelched for a few reasons, and now we're stuck on a handful with none really jumping out to us. .But...we're picky. Here's our criteria (or at least MY criteria...lol)

has to be simple. Easy to say, easy to spell. Both Liam & Milo could say and write their names very early and they are just SIMPLE names.

with our long last name I prefer one or two syllable names. No Stanislavski.

we prefer older names, and we're trying to stay away from trendy ones. Liam is more popular now, but we didn't know ANYONE with that name except the dude from the band Oasis. Milo is the same.

don't really care for gender neutral names.

So, with that in mind, EMAIL ME SOME NAMES PEOPLE! We need some ideas...the clock is ticking and this boy is COMING!

May 16, 2006

If you've never been pregnant then I'm pretty sure this post is going to make me sound like a madman. (Or would that be madwoman?) I have spent the last few months on a quest, and that quest finally came to a close this week. I have to document this though so in a few years I can look back and laugh at myself for the ruckus I caused.

Back around the new year Target came out with their "spring preview" of clothes that would be available in their spring line. I really like Target's Liz Lange maternity collection...it's one of the few actually attractive clothing lines that most pieces can be bought for under $20. My last two pregnancies completely missed the hot weather and were in the dead of winter, so I pretty much owned NO warm weather maternity clothing. Why this dress? Because I cannot find anything long enough, with sleeves, that is actually cute. And this is the first one that fit that description for me.

ANYWAY...So Target used this cute brown dress to advertise their maternity line. It was hanging on HUGE signs in their store since February, all over their website, and in their print ads. I called and checked and scouted for that dress since February, but no one had any idea when it would be released and sold in stores or on the Target website. Finally a month ago on the website they put a notice by the dress on the net that it would be released on May 1st. I had told my sister Louisa about this dress, and just before the first of the month she was in California and noticed the dress in a Target store there. So, I freaked out and started calling local T stores but no one had what I was looking for. I waited until the first and then placed an online order for two of the dresses since I didn't know what size I'd be needing. My plan was to return the extra one or let a friend of mine who is expecting buy it off me if it fit her. Well, Monday came when it was supposed to be delivered and no package. I called Target because my card had been charged but no dresses! The man told this very unhappy pregnant girl that the dress was sold out and they had accepted too many orders for it...therefore I wouldn't be getting any dresses in the mail.

I.WAS.LIVID.

But, I got on the phone and called every Target close to me AND the ones close to every single one of my extended family and friends (yes, EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!) and found ONE last dress...one size too big, but I didn't care. It was an hour an a half away, so I canceled my plans for the day, packed up the kids, ransacked the piggy bank for some gas money and took a little trip.

But I got the dress. And everyone at that Target thought I was nuts because I begged them to hold it while I drove up there, so when I got there they were all laughing at me. REALLY! They were! The note stapled to the dress tag said "Please hold at LEAST four hours for pregnant crazy lady from a few hours away". Ok, not quite that, but close.

I'm happy once again. I finally had something to wear on Sunday and that meant we actually got to church on time without completely emptying my closet out while tears gushed from my overly emotional eyeballs. And that's a good thing.

But, I do have to say BOO to Target for stringing all the poor pregnant ladies on that wanted that dress. I mean, SERIOUSLY...don't advertise with a dress for three months and then only have six to sell across the country! You're bound have problems... :)

May 12, 2006

You know sometimes when everything is just crushing in too hard and you can't make sense of even the little stuff? That's the time that I firmly believe in going into hiding. Nothing wrong with it.

So, yep, I've been hiding. :)

But, the result of my hiding is very good and I'm feeling back on track somewhat. My laundry is *almost* all done and put away, I've gotten most of my yardsale stuff put in the basement to wait, priced and all, my kitchen is clean and the downstairs is vacuumed. The yard is mowed, I watered it (a little too long last night!), and everything is starting to feel a little calm again.

So what's been going on?

The biggest thing is that my sister Kate moved here to Richland last week. She's been in Delaware for the last year with the fam and just needed a change of scenery. Elijah and I originally intended to finish up our basement quickly so she could stay there, but just about the same time we started planning out where the walls were going to go, we discovered a major leak in our basement from some plumbing "up above". We realized it was going to be a major fix and so Elijah started looking around our area and found some CRAZY cheap apartments right around the corner from us. (Hey, where were those apartments last year when we were looking for a place? LOL) We went down and arranged one for her, and she came a week ago. We've spent that time trying to find furniture and get her settled. The boys have been having a BALL with her...they spent about three hours last night playing pirates with her in the backyard. Elijah and I are really glad to have her around too. We have major time though trying to help get her settled so I've gotten a bit behind on other things...hence why the blog got ignored for awhile. It was the dishes or the blog... :)

Friday was the father/son camp out in our ward and Elijah made his first trip out with the boys overnight. The boys were SO excited, and they had such a ball. I gave them some bum directions so they got there a little bit late but I think they had a great time. They cooked hotdogs on the fire, played games, watched the Ipod in the tent when it was time for sleep (true campers...true campers...). Not that I like them being away from me but I have to say it was a rather relaxing night for me...I went to the store to hang out at a crop and then came home for the BEST night sleep ever. I turned off all ten of my mommy ears and just slept. WOW. Felt great. I also worked the next morning for National Scrapbook Day...it was actually a quiet day with lots of time spent checking out all the new goodies we've gotten in. Good thing I'm flat broke because I WANT it all! Fun weekend. Check out the photos of the boys here...

When I neglect the blog for so long it's hard to get started again, because there is so much running around in my brain that I want to discuss with myself on here that I sometimes can't decide what to talk about! I probably just need to chuck it all out the window and start fresh so I'm not playing catch-up! I do have a lot of pictures to share though, so I'll be updating my albums on the sidebar later on tonight or tomorrow morning.